Receiving and burial vault



(No Model.)

. R. B. LANUM.

RECEIVING AND BURIAL VAULT. No. 284,027. Patented Aug. 28, 1883.

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ATTORNEXS.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

*BIOHABD BQLANUM, or OIBOLEVILLB, onro.

RECEIVING AND BURIAL VAULT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 284,027, dated August28, 1883.

7 Application filed January 4, 1883. (N model.)

wedge-shaped pieces and a semi-cylindrical top piece, which pieces areall surrounded by a layer of paper for the purpose of obtaining smoothsurfaces of the chambers.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure lis a front end elevation of my improved receiving-vault, showingone door swung open. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of thereceiving-vault and of the mold for forming the chambers in the same.Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the vault. Fig. i is alongitudinal sectional elevation through one of the chambers, showingthe mold for forming the chamber.

The vault or mortuary A can be made oblong, square, oval, or circular,as may be desired but preferably it is made oblong with a rounded roof.A series of chambers, B, each of sufficient size to receive a body, areformed in the vault, the said chambers being closed at one end andopen'at the other end, the edges of the open end being beveled toreceive agate,

C, which fits closely within the end of the chamber. To that end of thevault at which the open ends of the chambers are formed a frame, D, isheld by means of anchors E, and to the said frame D the doors F arehinged. After thebodies have been placed into the chambers B the gates Gare secured in the ends of the chambers, and are cemented or otherwisepacked to form close joints. The air can then be removed from thechamber by means of some suitable device. The body will then not besubjected to the action of the air, and will not be decomposed. Theentire vault is to be built of cement, all in one piece, so that therewill be no joints or seams. For forming the chambers I use a mold formedof two wedge-shaped pieces, J K, on which a semicylindrical piece, L,rests. The bottom piece, K, increases in thickness toward the inner endof the chamber, and the upperpiece, J, decreases in thickness toward theinner end of the chamber. A layer of smooth paper or other flexiblematerial, M, is placed around the top and sides of the mold-pieces J, K,and L, and then the cement is packed around the upper covering. Afterthe cement has settled and hardened, the wedges J and K, thesemi-cylindrical piece L, and the paper coverings are withdrawn, andwill leave a smoothsurface chamber in the vault.

The vault can be ornamented very elaborately, if desired, and can bemade in any style of architecture.

- The paper covering M may also cover the bottom of the mold, ifdesired, and thus leave the bottom surfaces of the chambers as smooth astheir tops and sides.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A burial-vault molded into shape, with a number of coffin-chambersentirely separated from each other, each provided with an opening at oneend, and each having a gate adapted to be hermetically sealed, as shownand described.

2. The combination, with a vault, A, provided with chambers B, havingtheedges beveled at the open ends, of the gates G, fitting in the endsof the said chambers, substantially as herein shown and described, andfor the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with a vault, A, having chambers B, of the frame Eand the doors forth.

RICHARD B. LANUM. Witnesses:

MILTON MORRIS, B. O. ANDERSON.

